Company Campout

This weekend (August 13) was the annual Franson Civil Engineers campout. We went to Granite Flats campground in American Fork Canyon. Some employees went up the canyon on Thursday night. I decided to bring up the camper on Thursday night so it would be set up for Friday. After setting up the camper it was time to go off-roading!

Brandon Peterson, Chad Brown, my bro-in-law (Brandon) and I went riding on 4-wheelers Thursday evening. We left at approximately 6:00 from Tibble Fork Reservoir, and headed up the mountain to our destination at George Tyng's grave on Miller Hill. We reached the grave site at about 7:30. At that point it started raining pretty hard so my bro-in-law and I decided to start heading down the mountain.

We arrived back at camp at about 9:15 and started to reheat and eat some dinner. About 10:30 we were starting to get concerned that the others hadn't made it back down to camp. We decided to jump in the truck and start heading back up the mountain towards the mine site. This is as far as you can get without a 4-wheeler.

Luckily we ran into Brandon and Chad about 2 miles up the road from the reservoir. We found out that they decided to keep exploring after my bro-in-law and I started heading down the mountain. Also, Brandon's Arctic Cat ATV had broken down when they were heading back to camp. Chad had been towing and pushing him down the mountain when it wasn't steep enough to just coast.

They were watching Kung Foo Panda back at camp with the projector and generator. Now that is camping! I came back home to sleep overnight.

Friday

On Friday morning Teri and I awoke and headed back up to camp to get some breakfast! We had eggs, bacon, sausage, juice, hot cocoa, etc.

Friday was also craft day. The kids (with plenty of adults joining in) built marshallow shooters out of small pvc pipe. There were marshmallows everywhere. I think there are still a few on my shoes. I finally built one because these rebel soldiers were hitting us innocent civilians.

They also decorated hats with puff paints and markers. I forgot a hat so I grabbed one after it seemed that everyone else had one.

Several of the people decided to go on hikes or go fishing. Teri and I hung out at camp and watched Shrek 2. Lunch was sandwiches, chips, potato salad. Most of the people didn't return to camp until later in the afternoon. If they all call in sick on Monday we will know the turkey and roast beef had stayed out too long before they ate it.

Friday night's dinner was steak, chicken, potatoes, salads, etc. The steak was so soft I could cut it with a plastic butter knife. It was awesome! Chad's parents have come down from Idaho every year we have had this campout to cook the food. Joel Brown has a cooking trailer that has burners, griddles, and grills. It's a sweet set up to cook food for a large crowd.

After dinner we all hung out around the fire and talked. It got cold pretty fast and it wasn't long before even the fire couldn't keep the cold away. I had our daughter Cassie wrapped up in a blanket and then zipped up in my coat. She was out like a light the entire time we were hanging out after dinner.

Saturday

Saturday morning brought more food....and unfortunately more rain. We were battling the rain all weekend and it put a bit of a damper on the activities.

Not long after breakfast most people started breaking down their camps and getting ready to head home. Nothing is more fun than trying to pack up in the rain. Finally the packing was over and we all drove home. Of course, most of us then had several hours worth of work to do once we were home, but that comes with vacation I suppose. Good thing I have a day to rest before work starts again ;)

-EA